A Large Cup of Tea and a Long Bookhttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -C.S. LewisThu, 15 Feb 2018 17:41:08 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngA Large Cup of Tea and a Long Bookhttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com
FO: Reposadohttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/fo-reposado/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/fo-reposado/#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 17:37:48 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2624Continue reading →]]>I’m deeply thrilled to have a finished object post to share today. It’s been far too long since I had one. (Since November!) I have been knitting. I’ve even finished three pairs of socks.

But I finished a thing! And it’s gorgeous. AND….it has an AWESOME name.

If you pay much attention to my knitting, you know that I *love* Thea Colman’s Baby Cocktails designs, and I’m always thrilled to have an opportunity to test designs for Thea. I pestered Thea for the opportunity to test one of her newest designs, Reposado-a sleeveless top from her new Tequila Collection. (The Tequila Collection is a collaboration with YOTH yarns.)

Reposado is knit with YOTH’s Best Friend, a fingering weight yarn that is 75% cotton, 25% wool, held double. Best Friend has a delightfully rustic feel to it. I used oyster, which is a creamy white, and I had so much fun just looking at it and feeling it. I also really got into taking pictures of the yarn because winter sun+rustic white yarn=GORGEOUS. The yarn is held double. Thea recommends winding each skein of yarn and then rewinding them so that two skeins are wound together. The only reason that I didn’t do this is that a very wonderful human being wound my yarn for me, and she wasn’t comfortable winding the skeins together.

Overall, I think that the sweater came out quite nicely the way that I wound the skeins. I’m really pleased with this sweater. The lace pattern is very easy to memorize, and I found this sweater made GREAT tv knitting. I watched two seasons of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries while working on this, and I’m now completely convinced that Miss Fisher would definitely wear a Reposado top. But hers would be black or red. Or maybe a stunning purple.

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/fo-reposado/feed/0ceciliaireneYou’re Always Reading Somethinghttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/youre-always-reading-something/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/youre-always-reading-something/#respondThu, 25 Jan 2018 00:46:17 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2619Continue reading →]]>Every time that I spend time with one of my closest friends, she asks me what I’m reading. A few months back, I paused before answering the question, and she looked at me. “What? You’re always reading something. What are you reading now?”

I can’t remember what I was reading then, but she’s right. I am always reading something. I suppose it’s logical given that my bachelor’s degree is in English language and literature and I always choose “reading” as my favorite hobby whenever I take a BuzzFeed quiz. (By the way, I’m going to get married when I’m 26, I should live in Paris, and my ideal celebrity spouse is Chris Pine. Unfortunately, I’m 29, Paris isn’t even my favorite city in France, and Chris Pine is still losing that “prize” to Tom Hiddleston.) But yes, I love to read.

I was thinking about this as I made my to-do list for a relaxing evening in. I’m a bit stressed these days, and I’m really tired. i decided that my Wednesday night needed to be low-key. I also have a few things that I need to tick off my to-do list however. So I made a list.

Finish reading Horse Soldiers.

Work on test knitting.

Watch something on Netflix so that I can work on test knitting.

Start a new book. Pick one from the stack on the kitchen table.

Clean the cat boxes.

Here’s the thing. If I’m going to finish a book, I have to start another one almost immediately. It’s a thing with me. I don’t want to be without at least one book that I’m currently reading. Also, I have to have some work done on my car tomorrow, so I need to have a book to read while I’m waiting for the work to be done. (It’s a scheduled repair; I shouldn’t have to wait too long.) But I can’t start a new book in a waiting room. It just never works for me. I don’t know why, but I can’t start books in public places. I have to build the relationship privately before the book and I go public together. (Do I sound crazy? That’s okay.)

Also, I don’t like knowing that I don’t have a book that I’m currently reading. There are three books in the stack on table, and three more books in a bag by one of my bookshelves. I know which one I’m probably going to choose, but I’ll have to vet all of my options before I make a final decision. I find it reassuring to know that there is a book ready and waiting for me to just pick it up and read it.

Why do I like to read so much? Why do I always have at least one book on the go? The internet can’t agree who it was, but someone once said that we read to know that we’re not alone. I think that’s true. I find hope in knowing that other people have felt the way that I feel. I find encouragement in knowing that other people have experienced situations like the ones in which I’m living.

But I also read for other reasons. I sometimes read to learn. Let me tell you; Horse Soldiers was highly educational. I read to escape. It’s helpful to run away to Narnia or Middle Earth or the jungles of Africa sometimes. I think that reading enriches the human experience. It connects us with other people. It helps us to learn about the world. And I think that reading is ultimately the greatest way of exploring the world. You can go oh so many places if you read, and I love to explore the world. So pick up a book and find an adventure.

And I’ll do that shortly. But first, I have to clean the cat boxes.

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/youre-always-reading-something/feed/0ceciliaireneShirtless Chris Hemsworthhttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/shirtless-chris-hemsworth/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/shirtless-chris-hemsworth/#respondWed, 17 Jan 2018 01:54:07 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2615Continue reading →]]>Ha! I got you to click just with that title. I suppose I ought to show you shirtless Chris Hemsworth so you don’t accuse me of false advertising.

Ages ago, I put a reminder in my phone that it should show me pictures of shirtless Chris Hemsworth whenever I’m having a shitty day. It never follows through on it, but the reminder’s existence in my phone never fails to make my day.

It’s actually kind of funny because Chris Hemsworth isn’t really “my type.” I can freely admit that he’s a handsome man, and his kids are adorable. He’s in some good movies. He seems like a nice bloke. But he’s not really my type. (If you need a refresher on my type, please click here.) I just don’t really go in for the muscly blonde dude type. Regardless, one day, I clearly felt that he could make my bad days better. And the thing is that a random thought I had one day continually brings a smile to my face weeks and months after I had put that random thought into my phone.

And that’s the real point of this post. I’ve been thinking lately about how the little things in life can be the most important things. The little things in life can end up as the ones that bring us the most joy or have the most value. Shirtless Chris Hemsworth was a thing that I wanted once, but that one-time desire has turned into a long-term source of amusement. It started as just a little thing on a rough day, but now it’s a delightful source of amusement.

In my experience, that’s how life works. Little things appear inconsequential in the moment, but they end up being so valuable. Small comments can make more of a difference than big comments. Friendships are often built through the little things rather than the big things. Small shared interests can be the bedrock of important relationships. Miracles are found in the mundane more often than in the grandiose.

That means that we have to keep our eyes open. We have to look for the shirtless Chris Hemsworth moments in our daily lives. If we’re not looking for them, they’ll float past us unseen and unnoticed. So keep your eyes open; you never know when you might see a shirtless Chris Hemsworth.

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/shirtless-chris-hemsworth/feed/0ceciliaireneMy Love of Indie Bookstoreshttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/my-love-of-indie-bookstores/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/my-love-of-indie-bookstores/#respondThu, 11 Jan 2018 00:39:10 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2613Continue reading →]]>Last Friday, I went to my favorite local bookstore in pursuit of a specific book. I also planned to browse, and I wasn’t limiting my book buying that particular book. But I wanted the book.

I went downstairs to the basement where nonfiction lives. I found where I thought the book would be, and it wasn’t there. I poked about for a few moments but quickly decided that they must not have it. I’d ask at the desk about it when I checked out, but I wasn’t terribly upset.

As I started to walk out of the basement, I ran into one of the store’s owners. She asked me if she could help me and I told her what I wanted. She immediately walked over to the correct area (ie not where I’d been looking) and found the book. I took it, thanked her, and bought the book-along with a few other items.

This reminded me of something that I love about independent bookstores. The stores are about the books. They want to foster community and literacy AND be a part of the community. (There’s nothing quite like chatting with a bookstore employee about a book you both love as you check out) I love going into bookstores and seeing recommendations or reviews from the employees. A few indie bookstores I frequent feature areas dedicated to books that the store’s employees recommend. This isn’t just about what publishers recommend or what is hot on the New York Times book list; this is about what other people who live in my city like. These are people who are my peers.

A few years ago, I had a delightful chat with a bookstore employee about the time she met Julia Child. I love to cook, and I love Julia Child. Hearing about how Julia Child had been so interested in computer and the internet, that just made my day. It fits with everything that I know about Julia Child, and I loved learning more about her from someone who had met her. That sense of relationship draws me back into the bookstore.

Even when I’m in a hurry, it’s hard to avoid a conversation in the bookstore. I dashed in today to quickly grab two books that I need to teach a couple of lessons this week. (The library couldn’t get me my books in time for my lessons, so I had to suck it up and buy the books.) But then I found three more books that I’d been thinking about buying for my classroom library and…down the rabbit trail I slid. As I checked out, the clerk and I had a conversation about how much we both like B.J. Novak’s The Book With No Pictures. It was brief, but it was a reminder of why I love that shop.

I’ve ranted before about my dislike of Barnes and Noble becoming more of toy stores than book stores. I love going to indie bookstores because they are not a toy store. I won’t find puzzles or dolls in my local bookstore, but I don’t need those things. I need the sense of community and relationships that can only be built by people who love reading and great literature. They’re there primarily not to make a buck but to share books with fellow book-lovers.

As the twelve days of Christmas draw to a close, this song is on my mind and my lips. My Christmas season began in the heat of Arizona and is ending in the bitter cold of Michigan. This Christmas hasn’t felt quite right to me, but I’ve come to realize that is more my fault than it is anyone else’s. I kind of forgot what Christmas is all about.

Christmas isn’t about gifts or where you are or who you’re with. Christmas is about love. The other things are wonderful, and they help to make Christmas what it is. But ultimately, Christmas is the season of the spirit, as the song says. It’s about your heart. It’s about love. The first Christmas was far from ideal by almost everyone’s estimations. But it was beautiful. Love came down, and love is the focus of the holiday.

One of the things that I most love about The Muppet Christmas Carol is that focus on love. Let’s make like the Muppets and carry that love beyond the Twelve Days of Christmas and out into the rest of the year.

“It is the season of the heart
A special time of caring
The ways of love made clear
It is the season of the spirit
The message, if we hear it
Is make it last all year.”

Merry Christmas!

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/05/make-it-last-all-year/feed/0ceciliaireneWhy I Wear Makeuphttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/why-i-wear-makeup/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/why-i-wear-makeup/#respondWed, 03 Jan 2018 19:00:49 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2604Continue reading →]]>Over the years, I’ve heard various arguments in favor of and against wearing makeup. I think about it every now and again because I wear makeup pretty much every day. It’s just a part of my morning routine.

But why do I do it? Why do I take five or ten minutes almost every morning to put on foundation and eye makeup? Well, it’s simple. I do it for me. I like the way that I look when I wear makeup. It evens out my skin tone, and I use foundation with a built-in sunscreen. (That sunscreen is crucial for protecting my fair skin.) I like wearing eye makeup because I think that my eyes are my best feature and I like drawing attention to them. Also, I think that eye makeup makes me look more like an adult and less like a teenager. I get asked if I’m a teenager more than you’d expect from someone knocking on the door of thirty.

I’m not doing it because someone else expects it of me. I had to go bare-faced for a week earlier this fall when I had pinkeye, and almost no one noticed the difference. One of my coworkers commented (knowing of my frustration with wearing my glasses and bare face) that she thought I looked cute. Cute is okay, but it’s not what I usually strive for. I usually aim for sophisticated or lovely. That’s my personal preference.

I don’t think that everyone needs to wear makeup. I don’t think that anyone needs to wear it. I wear it because I think it’s fun to put on. But at the same time, I like knowing that I don’t have to wear it. I like knowing that I wear it by personal choice and not by outside mandate. Above all, I think that each person needs to make his or her own decisions about physical appearance rather than being fussed about what other people think about their appearance.

I love baseball. Those who know me well know that I dearly love the Detroit Tigers. I freely admit that watching a game at Comerica Park (on a summer evening with a Detroit craft brew in my hand) makes me happier than few other things in this world. Like any good baseball fan, I have my favorite players. For several years (with a particular emphasis on 2012-2014), Rick Porcello was My Tiger. He wasn’t the best player on the team, but he was often a good player. He seems like a good man. This game on my 26th birthday was particularly awesome.

And then about three years ago, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. I still like Ricky P. But he’s not My Tiger any more. J.D. Martinez became My Tiger. And then he was traded. Before I could really attach myself to my next prospective My Tiger, Alex Avila was traded. And last night, Ian Kinsler was traded.

Now, you will tell me (and rightly so) that such is the nature of baseball. Gone are the days of a player staying with his team for an entire career. This is true. I will find a new Tiger next season. I will love him until he leaves, and then I’ll find a new My Tiger. Porcello will always have a special place in my heart as will Martinez, Avila, and Kinsler, but they’re not Tigers anymore. Baseball is transient.

So is life. We are not made for this world. As St. Therese of Lisieux reminds us, the world is our ship and not our home. We were not made for this world. We were made for heaven. Like baseball players, we are not meant to always be here. We are meant for something greater. We cannot stay in one place and never move forward, never improve as Christians.

“If we are created for royal glory, royal glory will fulfill us.”

-Dr. Peter Kreeft

We were made to be saints. Just as baseball players are meant to play their best, work together as a team, and win championships, we are called to live lives of holiness. This means that we need to move beyond those things that hold us back from God, that hinder us from holiness. We need to lay aside our earthly care and fix our eyes on the King of Kings.

Brothers, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 3:13-14

Is this easy? No, it is far easier for me to let go of J.D Martinez as my Tiger than it is for me to let go of long-held patterns of sin. That doesn’t mean that I can’t let go of those patterns. It simply means that it is hard. I used to hope that J.D. Martinez or Rick Porcello would come back to Detroit. I had loved them while they were here, and I wanted them to come back. I wanted them to be part of bringing a World Series championship to Detroit.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

-Philippians 4:8

But their time in Detroit has passed. This is not their place or their home anymore. I have to let go of them. I can support them where they are now, but I can’t try to hold them back. (Not that I ever had any real power to do so anyway) Similarly, I cannot hold on to things that keep me from pursuing God’s call on my life. They might be fun, but I cannot surround myself with things or people that are not life-giving, that do not tend to sanctity.

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…

-Philippians 3:8-10

Now this isn’t some great announcement that I’m leaving something big behind. Rather, it is a reminder that there are things here and there within our lives that keep us from pursuing God with our whole hearts, with our whole lives. I’ll have to find a new My Tiger soon; I have to lay aside my dreams of Porcello or Martinez in the D. (I also have to lay aside my dreams of marrying Rick Porcello; that was always a ridiculous hope.) This is not their home; this place will not help them to become the best baseball players they can be at this point in their careers. They need to seek to be the best athlete that they can be. I need to seek to be a saint.

If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.

-Colossians 3:1

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/the-holy-transience-of-baseball/feed/0ceciliaireneA Better Planhttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/a-better-plan/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/a-better-plan/#respondWed, 06 Dec 2017 23:00:00 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2597Continue reading →]]>On Sunday, I put my Jesse tree ornaments on my Christmas tree. My flatmate is Lutheran, and I didn’t want to put the ornaments on the tree until Advent had properly begun for all of us.

As I put the ornaments on the tree, I found myself thinking about the people depicted on the ornaments. They are the great heroes of the Old Testament-David, Abraham, Samuel, Miriam, Moses, Elijah etc. They are people who lived their lives with great faith in a God whom they could not see. They were given a promise, but the promise was not fulfilled in any of their lifetimes. But that did not keep them from faith.

As I put up the ornaments, I found myself thinking about Hebrews 12 saying “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us…run to Jesus.” Ordinarily, I think of this in terms of the Saints of the Church-St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. Barbara, St. Cecilia, etc. But as I looked at the ornaments, I realized that these Old Testament figures are just as much a part of that cloud of witnesses. Samuel is no less a member of that great cloud than St. Nicholas. They had a different vision of holiness, but they each lived a life of holiness and sanctity according to the knowledge that they had in their day and age.

And as I kept thinking about that, I found my mind traveling to the end of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” (Hebrews 11:39-40) On this side of paradise, I have a limited understanding of the Divine Plan. I don’t know why exactly the Messiah had to come when and where he came. I only know that it happened because it was God’s plan.

While the timing or the place might not make sense to me, the reason is simple. God had a plan. It was a better plan than a plan to send the Messiah at the time of Samuel or Nehemiah or the Maccabees. It was a plan that somehow included us in a way that another plan would not.

And that’s a really beautiful thing. God sent the Messiah into the world at time that would benefit us. He thought of us. From all eternity, he chose to send the Messiah into the world at a time that would be the best time not only for the people of that time but for the all people in all times. The Incarnation was not for one time or one place. It was for all times and all places. It happened in one time and one place, but it happened in such a way as to impact all that had come before it and all that would come after it. The time was perfectly chosen from all eternity.

I find a great deal of hope and encouragement in this. Like any normal person, I struggle with understanding God’s plan at times. I don’t get why things do or don’t happen. I don’t always understand his timing. I know that his ways are perfect and his times are perfect. But that perfection does not automatically mean that I understand what is happening. A few years ago, I went through a very bitter and confusing season of life. In the moment, I could not understand it. Even now, I occasionally look back on it and wonder why that had to be a chapter of my life. I know that I’ve come out the other side, and I believe that both my life and myself as a person are better for that season. But I don’t fully understand why it happened. Regardless, I know that God had a plan for that season as for all of my seasons.

I don’t have to understand that plan today. I don’t have to understand it next week or next year. I may never know on this side of paradise. But I do know that I was guided through that season by a good and loving God. I know that I came out the other side because of God. I know that while I have plans for my life he has a better plan.

As I’ve been meditating on St. Joseph this Advent, I’ve been struck by that thought. Joseph, a humble carpenter from Nazareth, had some plans. He probably figured that he was going to marry a nice girl. They’d have a few children and grow old together. Instead, he married the Theotokos, the Mother of God. The only child he ever raised was not his biological child but rather the Son of the Living God.

God interrupted St. Joseph’s plans in order to bring about a more perfect plan. He spent much of the Old Testament interrupting Moses’s and David’s plans for a quiet life and elevating them to greatness. God interrupted the Israelites’ plans for a warlike king as Messiah with a humble servant crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. God will interrupt our plans whether or not we want him to. The great saints throughout history teach us that our only real option is to get out of the way and allow him to act.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

-Hebrews 12:1-2

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/a-better-plan/feed/0ceciliaireneThe Quiet Beauty of Eliza Hamiltonhttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/the-quiet-beauty-of-eliza-hamilton/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/the-quiet-beauty-of-eliza-hamilton/#respondWed, 29 Nov 2017 23:00:52 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2470Continue reading →]]>Like many nerds out there, I’ve fallen in love with Hamilton over the past year or so. Generally speaking, I self-identify with Angelica Schuyler Church, and I love the fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda allows this strong woman to be, well, strong. The play’s Angelica speaks her mind-as she did historically, and is not intimidated by much of anything. I find myself connecting to her wit, to her desire to the make the world a better place, and to her attraction to intelligent conversation and companionship.

But while Angelica is the most vocal strong woman in the musical, she is not by any stretch of the imagination the only strong woman. Her younger sister, Elizabeth “Eliza” Schuyler Hamilton, is equally strong, but she shows that in a different way than her sister does. Eliza shows her strength more through her actions than words. However, there is great beauty in Eliza both as a character in the play and as a historical figure.

I’ve been struck recently by the way in which Miranda has Angelica describe her sister. “You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind.” That’s a pretty impressive description. She is a remarkably kind person, and that’s undoubtedly something that both Angelica and Alexander see in her. Eliza’s kindness is one of her strengths-as a wife, a sister, and a mother. Her kindness motivates her behavior during the action of the play and the way in which she perpetuates her husband’s legacy in the fifty years between his passing and hers.

Angelica is an immensely passionate woman, and her passion motivates her to action. She is interested in the Revolution. She reads things that were not acceptable for women to read at the time. She wants to include women in the liberty that the Revolution will procure. She speaks her mind freely. She is a unique and wonderful woman.

But her sister is equally wonderful. Eliza and Alexander move to marriage quickly, and she works to be a good wife to the man with whom she has fallen hopelessly in love. It is clearly not easy to be a newlywed in the midst of a war, but Eliza tries. She continually reminds her husband that she (and later their children) exists, and his family needs him. In many ways, Eliza’s quiet persistence is what Alexander needs. He is a strong willed man who can have tunnel vision, but his wife doesn’t just let him go off and forget about his family when the Afterbirth of a Nation consumes him.

That quiet persistence remains one of Eliza’s leading features throughout her marriage. She doesn’t have down and out fights with Alexander; she knows that she’d have no success there. Instead, she keeps her counsel and waits patiently for her husband to remember his duties. This isn’t to say that she never gets mad at him. She is furious with him when he cheats on her, and he deserves the wrath she issues. They may not have terminated their marriage, but at least from what we see in the play, it is no longer a real marriage but rather just a social facade to appease society.

Some might say that it is their shared grief after the death of their first born child, Philip Schuyler Hamilton, that saved their marriage. It decidedly contributed. But another contributing factor is Eliza’s patience with Alexander’s attempts to win her heart back. She lets him woo her. She allows him to come back into her heart and her bed. Eliza is almost perpetually with her husband.

Eliza did have to take action ultimately. After her husband’s death, she had to be the head of their household. She had to make active choices rather than reacting to her husband and only making decisions that internally impact the household. She acts well when she has to, but this is not what she would have chosen as a younger woman.

Eliza Hamilton serves as a reminder that while there is a need for strong, outspoken women like her sister, there is also a need for women who take action in quieter, less obvious ways. Our world desperately needs the outspoken (I hate that word; it’s so negative.) activists like Angelica, but we also need the women who work quietly behind the scenes like Eliza. Quiet action has its value and place, and it should not be mistaken for subservience. Some women are meant to be activists in public or obvious ways while others are not. For example, I do not like being the public face of anything, but that does not mean that I’m sitting back and letting the world pass me by. I prefer to act behind the scenes, in less obvious ways. Eliza reminds me that this is okay.

I think that we need both Angelicas and Elizas in our world. We also need to make sure that both of these kinds of women are supported and encouraged. We cannot tear one group of women down in order to build up the other. To me, one of the greatest strengths of Hamilton is that it puts these two types of women front and center in such a way as to allow us to see the complementary nature of their strengths rather than seeing them as opponents. We need to see this more often; we need to encourage women to work together in such a way as to support their strengths. If it worked for Angelica and Eliza, it can work for us.

]]>https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/the-quiet-beauty-of-eliza-hamilton/feed/0ceciliaireneFO: What the Fadehttps://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/11/28/fo-what-the-fade/
https://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/2017/11/28/fo-what-the-fade/#respondWed, 29 Nov 2017 03:41:25 +0000http://ceciliairene.wordpress.com/?p=2589Continue reading →]]>Over the summer, I came to realize that I really loved Andrea Mowry’s designs. She was starting a mystery knit-along at the end of August, and I’m all for trying new things at least once, so I joined in. I chose six skeins from the numerous skeins of Plucky feet in my stash, used YouTube to teach myself brioche, and waited for the first clue to fall. She was calling the pattern WTF or What the Fade, which appealed to my fondness for cursing.

The first clue fell at the end of August. The final clue of the shawl fell in early October. I finished my shawl in late November because I’m not a monogamous knitter. That said, I’m completely in love with the finished product.The first clue fell at the end of August. The final clue of the shawl fell in early October. I finished my shawl in late November because I’m not a monogamous knitter. That said, I’m completely in love with the finished product. This knit was a challenge for me. I’d never knit brioche before. The pattern called for two color brioche. I learned on my feet. I’m not sure that was the best method, but I’m glad that I can knit brioche now. It’s a unique skill and a gorgeous fabric. I’ll definitely revisit it.